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Merchandise inspired by town's geese raises £4,000

John Devinein March
News imageJohn Devine/BBC Chrissie Fadipe, has shoulder length brown hair and is wearing a green jacket with a black top underneath she is holding an A4 size book in her hand which is the Geese of March colouring book and shows a white, domestic goose on the cover, real gees can be seen behind her on a grassy mound.John Devine/BBC
Chrissie Fadipe says the geese now have a wide range of merchandise including the goose calendar and colouring book

A gaggle of gregarious geese who made their home in a town have prompted sales of items in their name which raised more than £4,000 for charity.

Eighteen domestic white geese live in March, Cambridgeshire, and a Facebook group dedicated to their adventures called The Geese of March has more than 7,000 members.

The items included a goose calendar, tea towels, greeting cards, socks and a "dino-goose" printable toy.

Chrissie Fadipe, who lives in March, co-ordinated the production of the merchandise to raise money for the Waterfowl Sanctuary in Godmanchester and Sally's Duck Rescue in Wisbech.

"They don't act like regular geese, they are so confident, they boldly walk around the High Street, a lot of geese are quite anti-social and hiss at people, but ours come over to meet and greet, they are friendly and so photogenic," she said.

News imageJohn Devine/BBC A selection of goose-related merchandise in a display light box, the items include tea towels, colouring books and socks, all with goose emblems.John Devine/BBC
The selection of goose memorabilia includes tea towels, greetings cards and socks

Ms Fadipe organised sponsorship from local businesses to produce the merchandise.

She added she has come across "goose tourism" in the town, with visitors coming as far as Scotland to see the gaggle.

"I met one lady who had taken three railway journeys to reach us, just to see the geese," she added.

A visitor book, for people to sign and log comments on the geese, has been set up in a pub in the town.

News imageCharlie Bedford A white goose with an orange beak waddles across a zebra crossing with a dark blue car on the left and a white van on the right waiting for him to cross. Shops line the Broad Street in March and a person can be seen in a shop doorway holding a mobile phone to take a picture of the goose too.Charlie Bedford
A spokesperson for the British Trust for Ornithology said many birds were "highly intelligent" and had worked out that zebra crossings could be safe to use

Ms Fadipe, along with other crafters inspired by the geese, hosted their own pop-up goose shop at a Christmas market event in March on Sunday, 7 December.

"Back in August I set a target of £4,000, and I am so pleased to announce that we have now hit that figure," she said.

Ms Fadipe also said she had taken orders from across the globe for the Geese of March calendar, with shipments going to New Zealand, Australia and the US.

News imageJohn Devine/BBC A small reception area inside a vets is packed with people looking at various goose merchandise.John Devine/BBC
The pop-up goose shop was set up inside the Triovet vets reception area

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